My mothe rin law like sto control everything about our lives. I've written about how she tried to coerce me into selling my Alfa GTV6. Previously she's offered to loan me money in exchange for certain concessions, or convince my wife to do things behind my back because I'd never find out (she didn't, by the way).

She knows we're looking for a new car and is now ftrying to force us to buy her husband's 2008 CRV. It's an EX-L, 25,000 miles. No price named, but she indicated around $18,000.

I don't want a CRV, but it's a good deal on a good enough car. My worry is that by allowing her to dictate every major decision, we give up our ability to control our lives. My wife relies on her a little too much for big decisions, but that's also because she's so damn forceful. Telling her to keep her nose out of our business wouldn't be a good decision for me to make, either. That's another discussion for another day...

So, should I tell my wife we should consider it? The car we're most heavily considering is a CX5. The reason I like it more than the CRV is that it drives better. In the war of practicality, that reason will not win out.